Snorkeling Silfra

Sunday was our day of tours. Our morning tour consisted of snorkeling between the continental divide. It was freezing today. The wind was whipping and it was raining/sleeting most of the morning. We left a little early so we could stop at Thingvellir National Park. I knew we were going to see more waterfalls on our road trip the next day so I didn’t even get our the car. Dave braved the weather and hiked to the top to take a few photos.

The weather could not have been worse for our snorkeling trip. I had packed so much long underwear to prepare myself for the cold but my luggage had still not arrived. I was ridiculously cold before I even got into the 35 degree water.

The Silfra fissure is actually a crack between the North American and Eurasian continents, meaning that you dive or snorkel right where the continental plates meet and drift apart about 2cm per year. Silfra is the only place where one can dive or snorkel directly in the crack between two continental plates which is why we couldn’t pass it up. Right before we started our snorkel trip, they encouraged us to drink this crystal clear water. They said it was millions of years old.

Snorkeling Silfra was a once in a lifetime experience. I’m glad we did it but I definitely wouldn’t do it again!Read more